Rik Leaf's Blog, page 13

Production Party

Winnipeg, Manitoba…stay where you are! I’m coming to you. There are many ways to spend Valentine’s Day. You could Eddy Grant it and ‘rock on down to Cliche Avenue’ OR take it higher. (I admit that was a pretty obscure 80s reference. Hope you caught it)

Let’s forget the full body wax, baby oil and satin sheet routine…this Valentine’s Day we should have a production party. Here’s what happens. A bunch of friends and strangers get together. We pool awesome snacks and drinks and proceed to produce a one continuous shot music video complete with live music, dancing, acting…basically, if you’ve got skills, we use them.

By the end of the night we’ll have produced a video. And we’ll have had a ton of fun. Fun is sexy. Fun releases endorphins. Endorphins are two chromosomes away from aphrodisiacs in pandas. The human genetic sequence is only two genomes from a panda. Kevin Bacon has a pet pandas…Booya! (sorry that last part really went off the deep end…I don’t think any of that is true.

There are a few itsy, bitsy details we need for this to work.

A house/venue
Guests to fill #1
Guests filling #1 to bring snacks and drinks
No excuses for not being involved in the video when you’re there

Are you interested? Are you able to be one of the four categories? You have to let me know ASAP cause then we have to let other people know.

Still confused and have no idea what this could possibly look like? Check out this video of Margot and the Nuclear So-And-Sos, Take Away concert in Paris. Or if that’s too tame think, UBC Lip Dub.

So let’s recap. You save the money you were going to blow on scented body oils and edible underwear, divert that investment capital into a spectacular fleet of wines, (private message me for my Sommelier’s Short list of Sexy Wines) show up on Saturday, February 14th and have more fun that you’ve ever imagined Valentine’s Day could be.

Questions? Comments? The space below is all yours.

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An Artistic B&E

It was a winter tour, and not just any old winter, but a Canadian prairie winter. Canadian musicians trying to pay the rent and keep food on the table one gig at a time have no choice. -40 or not, the show must go on.

That’s why my friend Marie-Josée and I were heading north,18-hours from Winnipeg, Manitoba to Grande Prairie, Alberta, a backwater town that could keep Jeff Foxworthy rolling in ‘you might be a red neck’ jokes for years.

After set up and sound check the promoter led us to his place, which is doubled as the band house where he put up touring musicians like us. John lived upstairs but told us that because it was so f**ing cold out, he’d let us park in his driveway so we could plug our little import car in overnight.

OK…so we played the show, had a couple drinks and headed back to the band house. I was driving as we pulled up in John’s driveway. Our plan was for MJ to grab the guitars and hightail it for the door while I plugged the car in.

As I’m digging around in the snowdrift like an arctic mole looking for the electric socket, Marie-Josée is rattling away at the back door with the keys. Eventually I get the car plugged in and join her at the door. Together we’re pulling and pushing on the lock, jingling and jangling the keys, lifting up, pressing down. All the while I’m talking crazy s#% like you do when something’s not working. Then it dawns on me that John might have given us the wrong key, and this set may be for the side door. Piling even more guitars in MJ’s arms I promise to be right back and dash around the side of the house. I get to the side door slip the key in the lock and it opens, success! I let myself in, feeling a bit uncomfortable that I’m in John’s place, especially as there is a dog barking somewhere, but as I tiptoe through the kitchen I console myself with the knowledge that this isn’t technically my fault. If John hadn’t given me the wrong keys I wouldn’t be sneaking through his house. At which point I reached the back door and nothing was familiar. There were no stairs where there had been when we left, the door opened a different way…and as MJ and 70 pounds of musical gear crashed through the door I suddenly realized…we were in the wrong f**ing house!

We started giggling nervously, and shushing each other, which as one of the loudest possible sounds a person can make, made us giggle harder. We tried to sneak out quietly, but were suddenly unable to turn around without banging guitar cases against doorframes and boot cupboards. The deep resonant overtones from our guitars sounded like Tree Beard and forest of drunken Ents after a kegger.

When we got outside when I realized we couldn’t just run away cause our car was parked in the frigging driveway. As I’m struggling to get the keys out of my pocket, Conan the boxer-brief wearing barbarian burst through his side door. MJ, showing athleticism I didn’t even know she possessed just…vanished. With his large, he-man body glistening with he-sweat and nostrils flaring like a Stallion he bellowed, ‘WHAT THE F#% ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE!’

I tried to assume the most unimposing, frail, waif-like artistic form I could and begin to talk in a high, girly register at 100 miles an hour. “Oh I’m sorry sir that was me we accidentally came to the wrong house and it was a total accident and I didn’t mean to walk through your house.”

“WHAT WERE YOU DOING!’ he screamed, scanning the frozen tundra for my accomplice. ‘It was the keys man! The keys! We thought the keys were for the side door,” I splutter lamely.

“AND WHOSE F#%KING CAR IS THAT!?’ he points at our little import dismissively. ‘That’s my car, I know it’s an sh#%y little import.” “I’M CALLING THE COPS!” he said heading back inside.

I took that as my cue to stop bowing and genuflecting and start running away. I backed the car out of Conan’s driveway, pulled in NEXT DOOR, where John actually lived and ran for the door. Of course the keys worked just fine this time and we slipped inside quietly. Neither of us could find the light switch in the entrance way but I headed down the stairs with guitars in both hands as we started to relive the events of the past few minutes in that giddy, post excitement way, which was right about the time I missed the last two steps. Suddenly I took flight, arms outstretched, each clutching a guitar case spread wide like the wings of a majestic swan…until I came down with a sound I’m sure even Conan heard over his frantic 911 call.

I landed my Olympic dive with a spectacularly agonizing belly-flop-face-plant, my guitars droning in each case. Insult, as they say, to injury.

The next day I confessed to John what happened. He thought it was hilarious and headed down to the club where he started telling his staff the story, which is when the bartender said, “Oh yeah I heard about that driving to work.” A confused pause ensued, “they were talking about a break and enter on the news, apparently the guy startled the intruders who took off…in a shitty little import.”

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How Rik got his Cool

when Rik was a young child he always wanted to be cool.  so that I could be greased-up like a monkey. he learned how to play drums like an animal from the muppets.  His mother still loves him.

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Resources for Teachers

I provide professional resources for teachers wanting to provide arts in schools. If you are searching for creative ways to provide arts education for your students, this will definitely interest you. To maximize the investment of your school, I’ve designed three separate workshops; Slam Poetry, Filmmaking and Songwriting. I can offer all three over the course of a week, or focus on just one. Here is a quick synopsis of each workshop.

Slam Poetry is a combination of creative writing and creative performance. It offers students an opportunity to approach words in unexpected and creative ways. The material compliments language arts, creative writing, oral presentations, and has students writing and editing collectively as well as individually. Promotional Video HERE

Filmmaking develops media literacy and the fundamentals of storytelling and composition. Students identify their unique talents and abilities and then match their skill set to the project. They learn to recognize how their strengths and weaknesses provide opportunities to work with others who are skilled differently. Promotional Video HERE

Songwriting workshops are very participatory and great for young primary classes. Students sing together, clap and dance. We focus on concepts of good storytelling, word usage, flow and delivery. If I’m working with a class over the course of a week, I include recording and producing a song together. Promotional Video HERE

The entire school spends the week working toward a general assembly on Friday afternoon, where we screen the movies the students have made, perform the songs they’ve written and host a poetry slam, featuring poets from each classroom. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the investment the students have made, and to celebrate the creativity in the school and invite parents, families and members of the community.

I provide all the equipment necessary (mics, cameras, instruments, laptops etc.) for all of the workshops. I am currently booking arts education residencies for the 2015/16 school year. Please contact me at 250 896 2572 or info@rikleaf.com

The post Resources for Teachers appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Arts in Schools – Professional Resources

I provide professional resources for teachers wanting to provide arts in schools. If you are searching for creative ways to provide arts education for your students, this will definitely interest you. To maximize the investment of your school, I’ve designed three separate workshops; Slam Poetry, Filmmaking and Songwriting. I can offer all three over the course of a week, or focus on just one. Here is a quick synopsis of each workshop.

Slam Poetry is a combination of creative writing and creative performance. It offers students an opportunity to approach words in unexpected and creative ways. The material compliments language arts, creative writing, oral presentations, and has students writing and editing collectively as well as individually. Promotional Video HERE

Filmmaking develops media literacy and the fundamentals of storytelling and composition. Students identify their unique talents and abilities and then match their skill set to the project. They learn to recognize how their strengths and weaknesses provide opportunities to work with others who are skilled differently. Promotional Video HERE

Songwriting workshops are very participatory and great for young primary classes. Students sing together, clap and dance. We focus on concepts of good storytelling, word usage, flow and delivery. If I’m working with a class over the course of a week, I include recording and producing a song together. Promotional Video HERE

The entire school spends the week working toward a general assembly on Friday afternoon, where we screen the movies the students have made, perform the songs they’ve written and host a poetry slam, featuring poets from each classroom. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the investment the students have made, and to celebrate the creativity in the school and invite parents, families and members of the community.

I provide all the equipment necessary (mics, cameras, instruments, laptops etc.) for all of the workshops. I am currently booking arts education residencies for the 2015/16 school year. Please contact me at 250 896 2572 or info@rikleaf.com

The post Arts in Schools – Professional Resources appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Arts Education Resources

I’ve been offering arts education and performance workshops in schools for 15 years. To maximize the investment of your school, I offer three separate workshops; Slam Poetry, Filmmaking and Songwriting. I am happy to offer all three over the course of a week, or focus on just one.

Slam Poetry is a combination of creative writing and creative performance. It offers students an opportunity to approach words in unexpected and creative ways. The material compliments language arts, creative writing, oral presentations, and has students writing and editing collectively as well as individually. Promotional Video HERE

 Filmmaking develops media literacy and the fundamentals of storytelling and composition. Students identify their unique talents and abilities and then match their skill set to the project. They learn to recognize how their strengths and weaknesses provide opportunities to work with others who are skilled differently. Promotional Video HERE

Songwriting workshops are very participatory and great for young primary classes. Students sing together, clap and dance. We focus on concepts of good storytelling, word usage, flow and delivery. If I’m working with a class over the course of a week, I include recording and producing a song together. Promotional Video HERE

The entire school spends the week working toward a general assembly on Friday afternoon, where we screen the movies the students have made, perform the songs they’ve written and host a poetry slam, featuring poets from each classroom. It’s a great opportunity to celebrate the investment the students have made, and to celebrate the creativity in the school and invite parents, families and members of the community.

I provide all the equipment, (mics, cameras, instruments, laptops etc. necessary) I have availability from January – June 2015, and am currently booking residencies for the 2015/16 school year. Please contact me at 250 896 2572 or info@rikleaf.com

The post Arts Education Resources appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Record Your Version

Dark is the Night

I invite you to record your arrangement of this song. Submissions will be featured on the web site and shared so it can inspire others. Dark is the Night, came out of recent conversations with young songwriters, slam poets and filmmakers in remote communities across the country. Their personal stories of pain, hope and struggle mixed with the stories that fill the news.

The theme of my workshops is always about finding your voice so you can share your story with others, and recognizing how having different talents and abilities provides opportunities for us to work creatively with others. So we talk about how it’s in dark times of terror and tragedy that many of us discover our ability, maybe even our responsibility, to stand up for our friends, families and communities. To light the fires for those who have lost their way, and help them make it back home. To let them know that they don’t struggle alone and they haven’t been forgotten.

Here’s my invitation to you. If your school, community or church has a choir, I’d like to invite you to arrange and perform your own version of this song. If you’re a solo artist, a singer/songwriter or in a band or maybe just have a great group of friends who’d like to come up with your own version…please do! And then send it to me, so I can post it and share it with the students and communities I work with, to further inspire and encourage them.

Each of us has been given a voice…you can call it a gift, a talent or an ability. When we take what we’ve been given and offer it to those around us, we can change the world.

It’s a very simple song to play and to sing. On guitar use regular tuning.

(ooh part 2x) Am / C / G / Am

Am             C       G                        Am

Dark is the night when the stars are hidden

Am             C         G                       Am

Charting a course with no point of direction

F                   C               G                       Am

I’ll light the fires on the shore to guide you home

F                   C                         G

I’ll sing our songs through the night…hear my voice

(ooh part 2x) Am / C / G / Am

Dark is the life, when the stars are hidden

Charting a course, with no point of connection

I’ll light the fires on the shore to guide you home

I’ll sing our songs through the night…hear my voice

For Instrumental Break – strum Am chord and then all open strings

The post Record Your Version appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Record Your Version of This Song

Dark is the Night

Dark is the Night, came out of recent conversations with young songwriters, slam poets and filmmakers in remote communities across the country. Their personal stories of pain, hope and struggle mixed with the stories coming out of Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island.

The theme of my workshops is always about finding your voice so you can share your story with others, and recognizing how having different talents and abilities provides opportunities for us to work creatively with others. So we talk about how it’s in dark times of terror and tragedy that many of us discover our ability, maybe even our responsibility, to stand up for our friends, families and communities. To light the fires for those who have lost their way, and help them make it back home. To let them know that they don’t struggle alone and they haven’t been forgotten.

Here’s my invitation to you. If your school, community or church has a choir, I’d like to invite you to arrange and perform your own version of this song. If you’re a solo artist, a singer/songwriter or in a band or maybe just have a great group of friends who’d like to come up with your own version…please do! And then send it to me, so I can post it and share it with the students and communities I work with, to further inspire and encourage them.

Each of us has been given a voice…you can call it a gift, a talent or an ability. When we take what we’ve been given and offer it to those around us, we can change the world.

It’s a very simple song to play and to sing. On guitar use regular tuning.

(ooh part 2x) Am / C / G / Am

Am             C       G                        Am

Dark is the night when the stars are hidden

Am             C         G                       Am

Charting a course with no point of direction

F                   C               G                       Am

I’ll light the fires on the shore to guide you home

F                   C                         G

I’ll sing our songs through the night…hear my voice

(ooh part 2x) Am / C / G / Am

Dark is the life, when the stars are hidden

Charting a course, with no point of connection

I’ll light the fires on the shore to guide you home

I’ll sing our songs through the night…hear my voice

For Instrumental Break – strum Am chord and then all open strings

The post Record Your Version of This Song appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Songwriting Workshops

Songwriting Workshops are great for creating a safe environment where students feel comfortable working together creatively.  Songwriting is really great for working with really young primary age classes where many students haven’t learned to write yet.

Music is inclusive and breaks down initial fear and hesitation, and provides a way for students to participate in their own way at their own pace. Songwriting workshops allow students to be part of creating a story together, while learning to recognize the value of those around them, especially those gifted differently.

One of the great things about songwriting workshops is that music is participatory. We can sing together, clap and dance. I often see students that find writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation difficult, suddenly find themselves in an environment where they can be creative with words.

It’s not competitive, no one’s success comes at anyone else’s expense, creating a win-win experience for each student. Initially we focus on concepts of good storytelling, word usage, flow and delivery. If I’m working with a class over the course of a week, I include recording and producing the song, which introduces computer and technology education into the creative process as well.

The following 4 minute video is a compilation of some recent student songwriting workshops, so you can see and hear what your students and school can anticipate. Contact me at info@rikleaf.com or 250 896 2572 to book your workshops.

The post Songwriting Workshops appeared first on Rik Leaf.

Student Songwriting Workshops

Songwriting Workshops are great for breaking down walls and initial fear and hesitation, and creating a safe environment where students feel comfortable working together creatively.  They are particularly great when working with really young classes where many students haven’t learned to write yet.

Music is participatory. We can sing together, clap and dance. I often see students that find writing, spelling, grammar and punctuation difficult, suddenly find themselves in an environment where they can be creative with words.

It’s not competitive, no one’s success comes at anyone else’s expense, creating a win-win experience for each student. Initially we focus on concepts of good storytelling, word usage, flow and delivery. If I’m working with a class over the course of a week, I include recording and producing the song, which introduces computer and technology education into the creative process as well.

The following 4 minute video is a compilation of some recent workshops so you can see and hear what your students and school can anticipate. Contact me at info@rikleaf.com or 250 896 2572 to book your workshops.

The post Student Songwriting Workshops appeared first on Rik Leaf.