Category: writing

  • NEED A MUSIC BIO? I’m your guy

    Hit me up for your bio-writing needs.

  • From the Archives: Joe Keithley and D.O.A.

    Inspired by the recent release of Something Better Change, Scott Crawford’s documentary about D.O.A.’s Joe Keithley and his evolution form punk rocker to politician, I dug through the Georgia Straight archives and unearthed all the times I have interviewed Keithley over the years.

  • Some thoughts on artificial intelligence

    The fact that ChatGPT is not capable of forming an original idea or expressing an opinion is good news for writers. Mostly.

  • From the Archives: Interpol

    If you were lucky enough to have been among the select few curious indie-rock fans at the Royal when Interpol made its Vancouver debut at that long-defunct Granville Street venue in 2002, you might very well have been instantly turned into a fan for life. That’s the effect it had on me, at any rate,…

  • From the Archives: Ghost (2016)

    Ghost’s success is all the more impressive when you consider that it’s a heavy-metal band from the small city of Linköping whose members’ identities are concealed behind masks, makeup, and silly names. Oh, and they also write songs about Satan.

  • From the Archives: The Killers (2012 & 2018)

    Revisiting the two opportunities I have had (to date) to interview Killers frontman and all-around nice guy Brandon Flowers.

  • From the Archives: Mew

    With the band’s future uncertain—a run of “farewell” concerts has been announced, but there is talk afoot that Mew will actually continue without frontman Jonas Bjerre—it seemed like a good time to revisit some of the times I have had the opportunity to interview various members of the band over the years.

  • From the Archives: Cosmo Sheldrake (2019)

    His music is as likely to include the sounds of endangered songbirds as it is woozy waltz rhythms or marching-band brass. His lyrics read like the free-association ramblings of a man well-versed in the work of Lewis Carroll and Edward Lear, to say nothing of Syd Barrett. If that makes Cosmo Sheldrake sound like an…

  • career update: April 2025

    If you follow me on LinkedIn or know me in real life, you may already be aware that I was recently laid off by my most recent employer after three years. The good news is that this means I’m available—for freelance jobs, a full-time position, or contract work. I’m not as cheap as Chat-GPT, but…

  • From the Archives: the Decemberists (2004)

    t’s a hell of a way to start a pop record. “Shanty for the Arethusa”, which kicks off Her Majesty the Decemberists, begins with the creaking and groaning of a mist-shrouded clipper in some forsaken Victorian outport, followed in short order by the sharp sound of a woman’s scream.