New Album ‘Mission Statement’ Complete!

It’s been a year in the making. Obstacles such as broken bones, travel, mixing, and re-mixing weren’t going to get me down. The Mission Statement EP is now complete and currently streaming in the downloads section as well as here, here, and here just so that you couldn’t possibly pass up an opportunity to check it out. The album’s formal release will occur later on this summer, details to come soon.

Let me just say how happy I am to finally have this to share with everyone. Once again it was all recorded myself, which is no easy feat and while it’s some of the heaviest material I’ve ever put out, I feel like it’s more representative of me than ever before. Huge thanks, as always, goes out to Chris Whipp who spent countless hours engineering and mixing vocals, mastering, and worst of all, trying to explain to me the difference between fundamental frequencies and harmonics. Whipp, you’re still the smartest guy I know. Special thanks also goes out to my brother who loaned me equipment, space, time, skills, and advice on this record. Thanks, Dan.

Please feel free to leave your comments about the album here and stay tuned for a CD release event this summer and bigger and better things to come. bp9iagxhvt



Saving Face Acoustic Video Posted

Check out this first video in a series of acoustic songs I’ll be doing. Yes, I’m a YouTube sellout. More to be posted soon so keep checking back. Comment to let me know what you think!



Canada Day

canada

Some might have noticed my post about Canada Day on Twitter yesterday. The funny part is that I was out enjoying the day just as much as the other thousands of people that filled the streets of Ottawa last night.

The truth remains that Canada’s “birth” as a country was not on July 1, 1867. On that day, the British North American colonies became unified under one federal administration; however, this new entity still largely remained a British colony. The new Canadian government often had to consult with the British on all major legislative decisions (Britain could even legislate for Canada if it wanted) and had no freedom to carry out an independent foreign policy. This arrangement was displayed most prominently during World War I when Canada was immediately at war with Germany as soon as the British were.

It wasn’t until 1931 and the Statute of Westminster that Canada was given more real independence over its domestic and foreign policy, and legislative decisions. But even then, Canada still required approval by the British Parliament if it ever wanted to amend its constitution. This left Canada’s sovereignty somewhat in question all the way until 1982 when the Canada Act was passed after extensive negotiations with the British government.

So my intention is only to bring light to the fact that Canada really does not have a “birthday” in the way that other countries do. I usually argue that the closest thing to it is 1931, but it’s quite open to dispute. However, last night, having the chance to celebrate Canada Day for the first time since I was a kid, I realized that Canada Day isn’t really supposed to be a birthday. It’s just a day to celebrate one of the greatest countries on Earth. I couldn’t help but feel patriotic last night looking at the flag waving above Parliament Hill and listening to the sad swoons of Sarah Mclachlan.

The country’s history is perhaps not extraordinary, usually forgotten, but quite storied; it is deep with triumphs and challenges, blunders and perfections. Its scenery and culture are so subtle yet stellar while its politics can often be petty and childish. Its people are courteous and friendly, diverse and creative. For all it is and all we are, it’s definitely worth celebrating.

Happy Canada Day.



Once More With Feeling

Recently, Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu grudgingly uttered the word “state” when referring to the future of the Palestinians. It’s been no secret that his entire right-wing coalition is fundamentally opposed to the idea so it is definitely a significant step on his part. Nevertheless, he quickly slapped a whole slew of unreasonable conditions on such an arrangement, including the recognition by the Palestinians that Israel is strictly a “Jewish” state—code, as the Economist points out, for preventing hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees from returning to their homes in Israel. He also refuses at this time to even consider allowing East Jerusalem to become Palestine’s capital and does not want to freeze or roll back Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Meanwhile, the Daily Star out of Lebanon reports that Defense Minister Ehud Barak is working on a plan that would freeze the growth of settlements for 3 months so that negotiations could resume. While the details have yet to be finalized, Netanyahu’s coalition partners are not happy and seem adamant about not letting it get approved.

“It is out of the question for a party like the Likud to accept such a thing,” said Environment Minister Gilad Erdan.

“If indeed there is such a plan by Barak, it is wrong. I’ve heard him suggest such plans in the past, but we’re still making a distinction between natural growth and new settlements,” said Interior Minister Eli Yishai, the head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party.

Natural growth? Isn’t growth, growth?

While there remains several issues on both sides that require heavy negotiations, including the Jerusalem issue and border security for Israel, and extremist violence and Israel’s right to exist for the Palestinians, the issue of West Bank settlements absolutely must come first. In my opinion, the settlements amounts to Israel rubbing salt in a 40-year old wound. They are not needed for Israel’s security and probably exist only to satisfy the religious desires of hard-line conservatives that dream of recreating ancient Israel from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. The land needs to be given back so that the idea of Palestinian statehood has some credibility. Former British Prime Minister and current representative of the Quartet of Middle East mediators Tony Blair agrees:

From Hareetz.com

Former British prime minister Tony Blair said Friday that a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict could be within reach if Israel compromises on issues such as halting settlement expansion.

“There is a virtual consensus across the international community not just as to what needs to happen, but how…which was not the case a couple of years ago,” Blair, who represents the Quartet of Middle East mediators, told Reuters.

“If Israel were to join that, we could get an agreement and an agreement in my view that protects completely the state of Israel.”

Even if Barack Obama can get Netanyahu to back down on certain things like the general idea of Palestinian statehood, I sincerely pray that he does not dig in his heels regarding the settlements. For I doubt that there will be any negotiations unless a big move like that occurs. The last time that happened, in 2006 when Ariel Sharon pulled Israel out of Gaza, everyone’s hopes were very, very up.



Young Cardinals

aof

I just got back from a relaxing cottage weekend and will be spending the next week in Ottawa. On the way in, I had the pleasure of listening to the new Alexisonfire record. Man, do they just punch you in the ears nicely for 45 minutes. The album rocks. Generally speaking, each song comes at you with a barrage of voices, making it feel as though this is not a 5-piece band, but rather a post-hardcore choir. And despite being busy, the production value is top notch with each instrument sitting really well.

One new aspect for the band on this record is George’s turn towards more growling/singing from melody-less screaming. I’m sure many die-hards won’t like that, but I think it’s a natural progression as the band experiments further. In the meantime, Dallas Green’s vocals continue to soar miles above anyone I’m currently listening to.

The band incorporated some new elements not done by them before. The organ on “The Northern” adds a certain killer charm to an already great song. On “Young Cardinals,” the band makes its first foray into the world of drop C (if I’m not mistaken). Also, Dallas and George sing together, usually in an octavised fashion. Finally, the ballad “Burial” is simply ridiculous and needs to end up in a good movie or TV show. Using a church organ, the song takes the serious tone of the whole album to a new level and then adds a dark country/western feel with some twangy guitars. As soon as the first sustained strum hits, I smiled. That always tells me something’s damn good.



Goodbye, MJ

mj

“Where were you?”

That’s what you’ll probably be asked at some point in the next couple of days or definitely twenty years from now. You could easily make the case that the only timeline that really matters is: Elvis (’77), Lennon (’80), Michael Jackson (’09).

When I was a child, MJ was my idol and the sole reason I found music. At 6 years old, I was exposed to “Smooth Criminal” and immediately wanted to be him. I learned all the dance moves and can recount dozens of basement concerts for family and friends. During one concert, I even fell and hit my head on a coffee table trying to do his patented spin move (the source of my forehead scar).

Around that time, my brother and I pleaded endlessly with our parents to let us see “Michael Jackson’s Moonwalker” movie. Eventually they agreed, but shielded our eyes during “the needle scene”. In 1991, Dangerous came out and my adoration grew to new heights. How could any self-respecting kid not love the fact that Macauley Culkin was in the “Black and White” video. There was also that awesome clay-mation video for “Leave Me Alone,” an unreleased song that was so elusive the world went away each time I saw it.

I always thought it was sad that so much legal drama and oddities got in the way of more music coming out. Anyone who tows the line between man and perceived god probably would also recoil in the face of that much attention. The problem is that this world takes so much satisfaction and profit from building people up and then tearing them down.

I was always fascinated by “Man in the Mirror”. I cannot really comprehend such an amazing musical construct. From the production to the lyrical content, it’s truly a masterpiece. In 2002, I developed an acoustic cover and performed it multiple times over the next 7 years, the most recent of which being a small performance for my co-workers in Africa. Every time I play it, I instantly feel good and it seems that anyone listening does as well. There’s something so powerful in a song like that and I feel like it needs to be thrown up there with the likes of Imagine, Stairway, One Love, and Let It Be as the greatest songs of all time.

Just last year, I was driving back to Toronto with my brother, who happened to have stumbled across a behind-the-scenes interview series from the production of “Thriller”. It included bits from Quincy Jones, MJ, and the writer who penned the song (his name escapes me at the moment). One of the most interesting parts was the telling of the story behind bringing in Vincent Price to record the spooky talking. My brother recently planned to attend one of his shows in London that was scheduled for this summer, but ended up being postponed.

So where was I today? I was driving home from work and heard on the radio that he had been rushed to the hospital. I didn’t think much of it and figured he would be fine so continued about my business. As I was getting a haircut a bit later on, my phone was buzzing repeatedly and eventually I wondered if it was an emergency. In a manner of speaking, it was. Someone who shaped my life is dead.

Goodbye, MJ.



Stay With Me

Neda

Neda Agha-Soltan was shot and killed by Iranian police Saturday. Not because she was violently protesting against the recent fraudulent election. Not because she committed a crime. Instead, because she happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And perhaps fittingly enough, the whole event was captured on camera and posted all over the internet.

If I knew nothing, I know this: the mullahs are clinging to power at all costs and, to them, not for one human life is it worth giving it up.

I don’t intend on watching the video, but the Toronto Star published a freeze frame showing Neda’s terrified eyes following the camera, holding the rest of her body as utterly still as possible as bystanders pleaded with her to stay with them. It’s horrifying.

Only 26 years old, Neda’s name ironically enough means “voice” in Farsi, as her death appears to be re-energizing the protest movement. While at this point I believe that there will be no recount or any overturning of the election at all, at least through Neda’s story, the movement and all it stands for will never be forgotten.



New Myspace Design

Check it out… http://www.myspace.com/jonahkanter.

Leave a comment here and let me know what you think.



Twitter, YouTube, ShareThis, Oh My…

I’ve officially given in. I’m now using Twitter and YouTube.

I got all the fancy gizmos including complete Wordpress integration with my Twitter page as well as a fancy Twitter Flash feed on the sidebar. I’ve even got a sweet little new Twitter app for my iPhone so you can all have the pleasure of hearing about all of the excruciating minutia of every daily event. The problem is I suspect this will very quickly become a guilty pleasure. I’ll do my best to contain myself. I will of course continue to “tweet” on Facebook as well so please continue to check that, too.

I also finally started customizing my YouTube channel. While it remains very under construction, I’m excited about expanding it as well as my online catalog of video content. So far there are a couple of live videos up that were shot by a fan at one of the Holy Joes gigs last fall. In the near future I’ll be recording some fun, cheap, and easy videos, and also having live shows recorded.

The final little gadget that I added to the site is a little link below each blog post that says “Share Entry.” By clicking this link, any user can share that particular post with their online social network using any multitude of services, including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, etc.

What an age we live in, yeah?



The Lone Wolf

Yesterday Congress passed a resolution to condemn the Iranian government and officially declare support for the protesters. The resolution received a resounding 405 votes for and only 1 vote against—cast by veteran Texas Republican Congressman and former Presidential candidate Ron Paul. In declaring his opposition, he said:

“I rise in reluctant opposition to H Res 560, which condemns the Iranian government for its recent actions during the unrest in that country. While I never condone violence, much less the violence that governments are only too willing to mete out to their own citizens, I am always very cautious about “condemning” the actions of governments overseas. As an elected member of the United States House of Representatives, I have always questioned our constitutional authority to sit in judgment of the actions of foreign governments of which we are not representatives. I have always hesitated when my colleagues rush to pronounce final judgment on events thousands of miles away about which we know very little. And we know very little beyond limited press reports about what is happening in Iran.

Of course I do not support attempts by foreign governments to suppress the democratic aspirations of their people, but when is the last time we condemned Saudi Arabia or Egypt or the many other countries where unlike in Iran there is no opportunity to exercise any substantial vote on political leadership? It seems our criticism is selective and applied when there are political points to be made. I have admired President Obama’s cautious approach to the situation in Iran and I would have preferred that we in the House had acted similarly.”

Wow, gutsy. Ron Paul continues to be one of the most interesting Republicans out there, especially because he never feels afraid to speak his mind—speak the truth.

As I mentioned in previous posts, I firmly support the protesters and the greater goal of real Iranian democracy, but continue to question the genuity of similar calls from American politicians. For the more the United States leans away from the middle, the easier it becomes for Iran’s government to delegitimize the protesters.

Paul raises a very important point. During the last week as all these events unfolded, and for many years prior for that matter, the United States has continued to ignore the utter lack of democracy within the borders of its Middle Eastern allies, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and Kuwait. That said, the US doesn’t exactly have the moral authority to be making these kinds of resolutions, not to mention the fact that it should be the last country to do so given its storied history of meddling in Iran’s affairs.

This kind of insight is what attracted me and millions of Americans to Paul’s foreign policy views in the first place. He has never been afraid to mention when politics is at its worst. One of his beliefs that I wish more Americans subscribed to is that American foreign policy since World War II has, for lack of a better phrase, pissed people off as the country pursued unprecedented power and prosperity. Things like terrorism were the direct result of the blowback created by decisions such as providing Saddam Hussein’s government with satellite intelligence during the Iran-Iraq War in the mid-80s so that it could gas thousands of Iranians with weapons of mass destruction.

I suppose Ron Paul is just empathetic and so many others just…aren’t.



Iran On Fire

Protesters in Tehran

The situation in Iran following Friday’s election continues to deteriorate. As thousands of people have taken to the street in protest, the government declared that such an act is now illegal. Police were given authority to open fire with real bullets on anyone protesting. Some unconfirmed reports indicate that as many as 4 people have been killed in the skirmishes. The government has also attempted to prevent any information from leaving the country by shutting down cell phone networks and social networking sites. It appears that Mousavi is not under arrest after all as he made a brief appearance at the rally, proving that information about the crisis is definitely being bottled up.

It’s amazing to see such unified action from a population whose rights have been suppressed for decades by a multitude of dictators, but part of me can’t help but wonder if they’re receiving support from foreign governments. Google “Operation AJAX” and learn about how street protests in 1953 were really a cover for an American-led covert operation, which ultimately set forth a chain of events that leads us to where we are today, including both Gulf Wars, the hostage crisis, and of course, 9/11. Not since then, have Iranians tasted democracy so their demonstrations these last few days are extremely significant.

So the question is: how much intervention is actually going on? I’m not talking about Ahmadinejad’s typical rantings about things like the media; I’m talking about the real actions that are most likely occuring on the ground. Iran simply matters too much in the grand scheme of things so, unquestionably, every major Western intelligence agency has agents further instigating the conflict in hopes of destabilizing the government. Ironically, such activities are what killed Iranian democracy over 50 years ago. People were bought off with sacks of cash to oppose Mohammed Mossadegh. Now, they are most probably being encouraged to do just the same with the Ayatollahs.

Despite my hope for the people to finally be free, ultimately they might lose no matter what. Either they submit to the electoral fraud carried out by their rulers or they might yet again become pawns of foreign powers caught up in another game of geostrategic chess.

Update (6/17): Barack Obama declared that it is important for the US not to be perceived as “meddling” in Iran’s affairs. John McCain blasted this approach claiming that the election was clearly fraudulent, but Republican Dick Luger rightly pointed out that if the US were to get actively involved, then Iran’s government could deflect attention away from the issue. Information continues to be very difficult to find.