Monday, June 1, 2009

Nickelback

Nickelback is a Canadian rock band formed in Hanna, Alberta by Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and then-drummer Brandon Kroeger. Nickelback is one of the most successful Canadian groups, having sold roughly 31 million records worldwide.[11] Nickelback ranks as the 11th best selling music act of the 2000s, also placing as the 2nd best selling foreign act in the US behind The Beatles for the 2000s

The band is now based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Its name originates from the nickel in change that band member Mike Kroeger gave customers at his Starbucks job, he would frequently say, "Here's your nickel back".[13]

The band is signed to EMI in Canada and Roadrunner Records for the rest of the world. In July 2008, the band signed with Live Nation for three touring and album cycles, with an option for a fourth cycle. The contract includes recordings, touring, merchandise and other rights

"If Today Was Your Last Day" was the second major single (third overall) from Nickelback's sixth studio album Dark Horse. It was released on March 31, 2009 as the second U.S. single, and it had been released as the third single in Canada from around November 2008

Information from www.wikipedia.org

Buckcherry

Los Angeles hard rockers Buckcherry formed in mid-1995 after singer Joshua Todd and guitarist Keith Nelson were introduced through their tattoo artist; after cutting their earliest demos, the duo recruited bassist Jonathan "J.B." Brightman and drummer Devon Glenn and began performing live, quickly earning a major following on the L.A. club scene. Following the subsequent addition of second guitarist Yogi, Buckcherry signed to DreamWorks Records, issuing their self-titled debut LP in 1999. Singles such as "Check Your Head" and "For the Movies" were modern rock hits for Buckcherry, allowing them to raise their profile by summer 2000.

The following year, Buckcherry released their second album, Time Bomb. It wasn't widely noticed by critics, but dates opening for heroes AC/DC proved prominent for the band. In July 2002, founding member Joshua Todd unexpectedly left Buckcherry, which led to the band taking a hiatus. They regrouped in 2005 with original members Todd and Nelson recruiting new members Xavier Muriel (drums), bassist Jimmy Ashhurst and guitarist Stevie D. into the fold. Later that year they began recording songs that eventually would become the album 15, which was released in early 2006. The band's fourth album, Black Butterfly followed in 2008. Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide

information from www.starpulse.com

Friday, May 29, 2009

Blink 182

blink-182 is a band from Poway, California formed in 1992 by Tom DeLonge, Mark Hoppus, and Scott Raynor. In 1998 Raynor was replaced by Travis Barker, and in early 2005 DeLonge left the group, initiating an indefinite hiatus. DeLonge went on to form Angels & Airwaves, while Hoppus and Barker formed +44. On February 8, 2009, blink-182 announced that they had reunited

In 1999, blink-182 hired Jerry Finn as its producer and recorded “Enema of the State”. This album propelled the band into the mainstream with hit singles “What’s My Age Again?”, “All the Small Things” and “Adam’s Song”. All gained a significant amount of airtime on radio and MTV. Enema of the State went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide making it the band’s best-selling album to that point

Blink-182 officially announced their reunion while presenting at the 2009 Grammy Awards. The band’s Official Website confirmed the band’s reunion with the following statement :

“Hi. We’re blink-182. This past week there have been a lot of questions about the current status of the band, and we wanted you to hear it straight from us. To put it simply, We’re back. We mean, really back. Picking up where we left off and then some. In the studio writing and recording a new album. Preparing to tour the world yet again. Friendships reformed. 17 years deep in our legacy

Information from www.last.fm

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne (born Da'Wayne Carter September 27, 1982 in New Orleans, Louisiana) was one of the Hot Boys, an American rap group associated with Cash Money Records. His debut solo album was, Tha Block Is Hot was released in 1999. The title track was a huge hit. His second album was 2000's Lights Out, followed by 500 Degreez in 2002. In 2004 he released his latest solo album titled " Tha Carter".

A native of New Orleans, Lil Wayne grew up in the Hollygrove section of town. As an aspiring young rapper, Wayne rapped at neighbour parties and it was at one of these parties that he was overheard by members of U.N.L.V., a group signed to Cash Money Records. Wayne was given contact information and followed up on them in a autograph signing session where he met the Cash Money CEOs Brian "Baby" Williams and Ronald "Slim" Williams. An impromptu freestyle session led to serious consideration on the parts of the Williams brothers. After Wayne found out the location and phone number of Cash Money Records, he visited on an almost daily basis while also leaving freestyles on their answering machine. Such dedication on the part of the 12-year-old Wayne moved the Williams brothers and they signed the young rapper; pairing him up with another newly signed young rapper named Big goochie and released their group effort "TRU Story nigga", under the name The B.G.'z.

Following acclamations for Tha Carter, newly minted Def Jam president Jay-Z entered into a bidding war with Cash Money for Wayne's services. Wayne eventually resigned with Cash Money and earned himself a new label, "Young Money," distributed through Cash Money/Universal which first featured his crew Squad Up. But the group soon broke, and now Lil Wayne has a new group named Young Money. The Group consists of Curren$y, a local rapper previously on C-Murder's TRU Records, Boo of Boo and Gotti, and a new up and coming rapper named Mack Maine also from the Hollygrove area of New Orleans.

Lil Wayne is currently studying Sports Management at the University of Houston

Information from http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/lil-wayne/

Snoop Dogg

Calvin "Snoop Dogg" Broadus is a rare exception in the turbulent world of entertainment. After bursting on the scene in 1992, Snoop was crowned the king of the West Coast and single handedly put Long Beach on the map in terms of hip hop. Gritty lyrics and unmatched charisma made him a superstar but nobody could have guessed back then that his appeal would soon be widespread. From "Doggystyle" to appearances on the Martha Stewart show, Snoop will always be recognized and loved by all ages – from grandmothers to grandchildren and everyone in between.

In February, 2009, Snoop entered a first-of-its kind global deal with MTV that will bring his personality to television in a new variety talk show, "Dogg After Dark," and his music to fans with a new album release and into the best-selling music video game Rock Band®. The show will air weekly with raw interviews with A-list talent, hilarious sketch comedy segments and musical performances from the hottest artists. The show will also feature Snoop’s own in-house band, the "Snoopadelics", and premieres on Tuesday February 17th at 9pm.

Information from www.snoopdogg.com

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.

T.I. was born on September 25, 1980 as Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also known as T.I.P. and "Rubberband Man". T.I. is from the streets of Westside Bankhead Zone 1 in Atlanta. He is of both Native American and African American descent. His original stage name, T.I.P., it stems from his childhood nickname "Tip", given by his grandfather. He later changed it to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip. He was dubbed "the Jay-Z of the South" by Pharrell Williams, T.I. gradually established himself as one of rap's greatest and most successful MCs during the early 2000s. T.I. has been active with helping the community especially with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs. He has had successful movies roles such as: ATL (2006) and most notably American Gangster(2007) along side Denzel Washington.

T.I. turned himself in Tuesday (May 26) at an Arkansas federal prison, where the rapper will begin serving a 366-day sentence stemming from his 2007 arrest for attempting to illegally attempting to purchase firearms in Atlanta.

Eminem

Eminem, born Marshall Bruce Mathers III, 17 October 1973, Kansas City, Missouri, USA. This white rapper burst onto the US charts in 1999 with a controversial take on the horrorcore genre. Mathers endured an itinerant childhood, living with his mother in various states before eventually ending up in Detroit at the age of 12. He took up rapping in high school before dropping out in ninth grade, joining ad hoc groups Basement Productions, the New Jacks, and D12. The newly named Eminem released a raw debut album in 1997 through independent label FBT. Infinite was poorly received, however, with Eminem earning unfavourable comparisons to leading rappers such as Nas and AZ. His determination to succeed was given a boost by a prominent feature in Source's Unsigned Hype column, and he gained revenge on his former critics when he won the Wake Up Show's Freestyle Performer Of The Year award, and finished runner-up in Los Angeles' annual Rap Olympics. The following year's The Slim Shady EP, named after his sinister alter-ego, featured some vitriolic attacks on his detractors. The stand-out track, "Just Don't Give A fuck", became a highly popular underground hit, and led to guest appearances on MC Shabaam Sahddeq's "Five Star Generals" single and Kid Rock's Devil Without A Cause set. As a result, Eminem was signed to Aftermath Records by label boss Dr. Dre, who adopted the young rapper as his protege and acted as co-producer on Eminem's full-length debut. Dre's beats featured prominently on The Slim Shady LP, a provocative feast of violent, twisted lyrics, with a moral outlook partially redeemed by Eminem's claim to be only "voicing" the thoughts of the Slim Shady character. Parody or no parody, lyrics to tracks such as "97 Bonnie & Clyde" (which contained lines about killing the mother of his child) and frequent verbal outbursts about his mother were held by many, outside even the usual Christian moral majority, to be deeply irresponsible. The album was buoyed by the commercial success of the singles "My Name Is" and "Guilty Conscience" (the former helped by a striking, MTV-friendly video), and climbed to number 2 on the US album chart in March 1999.

Eminem's newest release Relapse, on May 15, 2009.

Information from www.sing365.com and wikipedia

Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson

Born in the South Jamaica section of Queens, Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson has lived in New York City all his life. Raised by his grandparents after his father ran out and his mother was shot when he was only eight. Growing up, the Queens rapper originally wanted to be a heavyweight boxer, but eventually fell back on rapping. DJs had taken it upon themselves to release two Best of 50 Cent mix CDs, before he had even signed to a major label. 50 Cent hit the scene with "How To Rob An Industry Nigga" and he's been on a rampage ever since dealing with bootleggers, label back stabbing and other platinum selling artists trying to get at him physically. In 1999 his album Power of the Dollar, was heavily bootlegged and Trackmasters/Columbia never released it. Supposedly, Trackmasters weren't comfortable with him being caught up in the streets and getting shot three days before filming the video for "Thug Love," (with Destiny's Child) -- his first single. 50 was shot nine times that night, two shots hitting him in the head, the bullet that struck his face he carries as a reminder of what happened. That event led to the fall out with Columbia and negotiating his release from their grasps. He still showed love and rhymed over a Trackmasters produced remix of "I'm Gonna Be Alright" on J-Lo's latest album, but rivals at Murder Inc. had 50 cut from the track which could have launched the rapper. This all changed in one night when Eminem said on a radio show that "50 Cent is definitely my favorite rapper right now, he's the only one keeping it real." The very next day a bidding war started on 50, ending when 50 signed to Eminem's very own label Shady/Aftermath. 50 Cent's fame has exploded, being produced by Dr. Dre and Eminem and finally making his debut album "Get rich or Die Tryin'." 50 has full access and advantage of the streets through mix-tapes; that's his forum because he controls it. 50 Cent is the most anticipated artist of 2003. It's well deserved because he's "been patiently waiting"

Information from www.imdb.com

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a promising actor[2] and a social activist. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known[3] for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality. Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.

Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. He was later shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur was later a convicted sex offender,[6][7] guilty of sexual abuse. After serving eleven months of his sentence he was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Suge's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label.

On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. He died several days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center

Christopher G. L. Wallace

Name:
Stage Name: The Notorious B.I.G.
Alias: Biggie Smalls, Frank White
Birth: May 21, 1972 Brooklyn, New York
Death: March 9th, 1997 Los Angeles, Ca
Occupation: Musician/Father/Entrepreneur

Born May 21, 1972, the only child of Voletta Wallace, Christopher was special from the beginning. "He was singing and talking before he could walk," his mother remembers. "Writing before he attended school, the biggest most beautiful handwriting. And everyone loved Christopher, everyone."

A tape he made with Big Daddy Kane's DJ, Mister Cee, was submitted to The Source Magazine for their "Unsigned Hype" competition. It won. The tape, a basement production of B.I.G. rhyming with authority over "Half-Steppin," was forwarded to Bad Boy founder and CEO, Sean "Puffy" Combs, who was looking for a hardcore rapper. He was blown away. "I just kept rewinding and rewinding it. I had to meet him," remembers Puffy.

Biggie won three awards at the 1995 Source Music Awards ceremony, including Best New Artist. At that year's Billboard Music Awards, his single "Big Poppa" was named "Single of the Year" and, in 1997, Life After Death won Billboard's "R and B Album of the Year," an MTV Video Music Award for "Best Rap Video," and two ASCAP Awards. But the album's impact cannot be measured by mere chart placements and platinum certifications, or even awards. "The stakes were raised," says Wu-Tang founder and producer RZA. "Before B.I.G., you might put out anything, now you knew, okay, it's real out there, you gotta come correct, 'cause this cat is spending time on his shit."

Early on the morning of March 9th, The Notorious B.I.G. was returning to his hotel in Los Angeles after a Soul Train Award party when another car pulled up aside his G.M.C. Suburban in front of the Peterson Automobile Museum and opened four shot's past through the side door where Notorious B.I.G. was seated and left the world wide loved rapper un-conscious and tragically dying upon arrival to a near by hospital.

Christopher Wallace was undoubtedly one of the greatest rappers of all time and is a legend in his own right. B.I.G. survived by his wife and two children. Still today, many want to learn more about the late great rapper. Many remember what he accomplished as well as gained in his very young bright successful career. Notorious B.I.G. might be physically gone but spiritually he will always be alive thru his works. Nevertheless he was larger than life. The murder investigation of The Notorious B.I.G is still active to this day but there has still been no arrest's in the murder...

Information from www.sing365.com

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Assignment 3

How the Internet has affected world-wide communication?

Well you obviously can talk to more people and reach out to more people than one previously could. Would I have been able to answer your question if the internet didn't exist? Probably not, thats how internet has affect communications

How e-mail has affected personal communications?

E-mail is the first new peer-to-peer communication system adopted by the masses since the telephone. Having an e-mail address today is often even more important than having a telephone number. E-mail is indispensable for personal and business communications. And just like the phone has gone wireless with cell phones, e-mail is going wireless and content is getting richer. The future of e-mail is instant visual messaging, anytime, anywhere

Italy, Rome

How to get there - First I would get to Regina but a vehicle and then take a flight from there all the way to Italy

http://book.aircanada.com/pl/AConline/en/OverrideServlet

Where to stay - I found the cheapest hotel with good qualities and is right around all the shopping malls and theatres

http://www.booking.com/hotel/it/internationalpalace.html?aid=306395;label=it-GKWeb9V1A3t4QP*dPTGhUQS393459269;sid=96d3cc68cb841b6b772dc1380da99e97

What to see - I found a site with a tour about ancient findings and plays to see

http://romanstrolls.com/tours/old_ostia.htm

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Guns N Roses

http://web.gunsnroses.com/tour/index.jsp

Above is a site for Guns N Roses' tour dates

Friday, March 6, 2009

http://www.drumgroups.com/

Drumgroups.com

Dear Drumgroups.com,

Black Rain is one of my favorite bands to listen to. The lyrics make sense and is well written. I've never seen Black Rain Live, which would be awesome. I was wondering when their next album was gonna be released. I hear that they already started on it, which is exciting. So please let me know when the next album will be released.

Donovan Chanalquay

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Gender Specific Language

These are some words I found that are Gender Specific Language and here is how I changed them:

Fireman - Firefighter

Ironman - Ironest

Airman - Airest

Tourman - Tourer

Spiderman - Spiderhero



I chose 2 random words and 3 major ones. I changed some of them to words that dont even exist. Alot of people acuse words of being man and some women dont appreciate that. So we should be more careful for the things we say.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Culture And Communications

Today is Febuary 9th/09. This morning we learned about how hard it would be to check into a hotel from another country. It was hard because we didn't speak the language, so we had to find out a way to ask for six rooms with one bed each. We tried drawing pictures and doing hand gestures and face expressions. It did not turn out okay. But at least we tried right. I like this class because it's fun and I'm learning alot about Communicating.