Brock Skywalker

Thanks SAMRO! · 16 February 07

This morning I received my quarterly songwriter royalty statement, for Apr 01 to Jun 30, from the good (if not slightly confused) people at SOCAN. It is always a pleasant surprise to have money magically appear in your bank account and being that it is a quarterly payment, I always forget it is coming.

The thing that makes this quarterly statement noteworthy is that it shows that I was paid $40.54 from SAMRO. SAMRO is the Southern African Music Rights Organization. How cool is that?

I also made $1.44 from EAU (Estonia). $0.45 from IMRO (Ireland), $0.13 KODA (Denmark), $1.63 from PRS (England) and $0.15 from SCD (Chile).

As an Edmonton songwriter I am pretty darn happy when people just show up to my gigs and don’t leave before I have sung my last note. But actually getting paid for my music being played in other countries makes me feel good all the way to… well, all the way to EB Games where I will likely pick up another game for my Wii and waste another weekend in front of the tv instead of writing more songs. Sigh…

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Rebekah, Kris and Me · 19 December 06

December 20th @ The Sidetrack Cafe – Edmonton, AB.

Brock Skywalker and His (not so) Irregular Heartbeats,
playing with Halifax’s own Rebekah Higgs and Calgary’s own Kris Demeanor.

Show starts at 9:00
Tickets $7 at the door

See you there!

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Shoelaces are difficult · 1 December 06

I have been having some serious shoelace issues today. Not only have they come undone 3 times on me while I was running, walking and sitting at my desk, but twice now, while I’ve been trying to untie them, they’ve knotted themselves up so badly that I nearly had to use my teeth to get them to let go. And, as many of you know, anyone’s teeth and my feet do not mix.

Perhaps it is the alignment of the moon, or maybe it is solar flares, but most likely it is because I stayed out late last night watching the inimitable That 1 Guy. My opening set went very well and the audience seemed to appreciate my wit and musicality… or perhaps they just liked my pants… but then Mike took the stage and they went mad. As did I! Not only did he play a crazy instrument and fill the role of one man band better than anyone I have ever seen but he also did some breakdancing! Breakdancing people! It was awesome. And to top it all off he was a super nice guy too.

See his shows, buy his album, have him over for dinner. That 1 Guy is great!

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Last minute rock · 28 November 06

I just got asked to do a solo opening slot for That 1 Guy at the Powerplant (UofA Campus) this Thursday night. It promises to be an interesting evening.

The show details are as follows:
Righteous Babe Recording Artist – That 1 Guy
With Brock Skywalker
Thursday, November 30th @ The Powerplant
Doors @ 8pm
Tickets $8 at the door

More gig listings on the gigs page.

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Waynefest 5! · 7 September 06

The weather looks great, the tickets are sold out, the bands are all coming (except for Les Cireux d’Semelles who got in a car accident yesterday – don’t worry Mario is ok, he just can’t travel or play), the beer is ready to be picked up, the steaks are ready to be deep-fried… all our ducks are in a row. Looks like it is time for me to head out!

If you aren’t in Wayne this weekend, I will talk to you next week… but be quiet please, I will be sleepy.

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PARTAY! · 3 August 06

Today @ The Sidetrack Cafe – Celebrate my birthday with me by watching me rock out!
Opener: Jonny Nordstrom.
Special little birthday guests: Paul Bellows, James Murdoch, and Joe Bird (Grrr!).
Show: 9pm
Tickets: $5 at the door
Birthday prezzies: optional… teehee…

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Wafting salmon · 1 August 06

daveb says: how’s the b-rocka?
BrockSky says: Sleepy. Got back from Alaska at 2:30 this morning.
daveb says: whoa! how was the big show?
BrockSky says: Very cool! Very fun!
BrockSky says: The little shows were cool too!
BrockSky says: On Friday I played on a patio, with bbq salmon wafting at me, facing a gorgeous mountain and lake in the Yukon.
daveb says: wow
daveb says: that’s the kinda thing you should blog about
BrockSky says: Hrm… perhaps I should.
daveb says: ahem
BrockSky says: In my blog should I mention the kids hoola-hooping to my mainstage set in Haines on Saturday? And the runaway baby carriage that was careening towards the stage?
daveb says: of course!

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Headin' north · 27 July 06

I leave EARLY (airport at 5am) tomorrow morning for Whitehorse YT, then Haines Junction YT, and then on to Haines AK. It is going to be a fun filled trip of gigs, interviews, border crossings, free salmon, probably some beer, new faces, some old friends, and lots of fresh air! (For a more detailed itinerary see the gigs page).

See you next week… suckers! Jus’ kiddin’.

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Billy vs. MySpace · 27 July 06

I read this earlier on Boing Boing and although I was (and remain) skeptical that Billy Bragg would have anything to do with Rupert Murdoch’s menace to the internet MySpace I am pleased to see that he (or someone in his name) is doing some good for all us internet lemmings:

Billy Bragg gets MySpace’s terms of service changed

Billy Bragg’s highly publicized campaign against MySpace’s crummy, grabby terms of service has been successful. MySpace has revised its terms so that musicians who upload to the site retain control of their works, and MySpace / NewsCorp / Fox can’t sell those songs without contracting with the musicians.
www.myspace.com/billybragg

“Now that the popularity of downloading has made physical manufacturing and distribution no longer necessary, the next generation of artists will not need to surrender all of their rights in order to get their music into the marketplace. It is therefore crucial that they understand, from the moment that they first post music on the internet, the importance of retaining their long term right to exploit the material that they create. This is doubly important on a networking site where many of the songs posted will be by unsigned artists. Ownership of the rights to such material is somewhat ambiguous. Thats why I hope that the groundbreaking decision of MySpace to come down on the side of the artists rights will be followed throughout the industry.”

“I also welcome the new wording of the terms and conditions in which MySpace clarify exactly why they require specific rights and how they intend to use them. Again, I hope more sites follow the lead of MySpace in ensuring the use of clear and transparent language in contracts. The last thing any of us wants to see is a situation in which everyone posting a song on the site has to have a lawyer sitting next to them. ”

Thanks Billy, we need you and appreciate you more than you will ever know. Now can you do something about the 40 year old creeps leering at those misguided 14 year old girls?

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Waynefest is kicking it off! · 11 July 06

Once again the good old Sidetrack Cafe (in its new deep-downtown location) will be hosting the official Waynefest pre-fest kick-off party.

Tonight, July 11th @ 8:30 pm
Tickets $10 at the door
Sidetrack Cafe
10238 104 ST
Edmonton, AB
(780) 421-1326

Starring: Jonny (of The Lazy Guns), Me, and Lovertine.

Of course waynefest will be offering the good old early-bird price on Waynefest weekend passes: you pay $10 to get in to the show and in return you get a festival pass for $10 off the regular price. Awesome!

Check this article from the Edmonton Sun about the event. It is sunny! Thanks Jenny.

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