Tether: Jamming at UTSC

An EP is coming out soon that is going to rock the city of Toronto. Shattered is the upcoming debut from Toronto’s own up-and-coming band Tether. Band members Mike Ritchie, James Parker, and Jad Sater talks about the bands beginnings, and the little place under the stairs.

Ritchie states that Tether was formed in September 2012; however, Parker and Sater had played together prior to that. “We all came in to the picture – pretty much just jumped right on. The drummer as well, we met him a long time ago but recently he started playing with us though.”

Ritchie, Parker, and Sater all go to UTSC, also known as UofT Scarborough. They will each be entering their second year in the fall. ”They’re in Bio-Chem,” says Parker. “I’m trying to figure out what I want to do, I think our singer’s in the same position.”

After meeting at UTSC, the newly formed band found a unique spot to jam that became their niche. Ritchie says, “We had a little place in UTSC – near one of the main halls there was a staircase, that section underneath a little like a Harry Potter moment.”

Other students took notice of all the jamming that was going on in the school. “There’s like a big meeting area, and we got in shit for playing there actually,” explains Ritchie. He then added, “They have a little confessions page for school – there are a few notes on there about us. It was nice to hear some people were listening and they enjoyed us.”

Not only did they jam in the little hideout, they also recorded some music. Sater says, “We recorded a few demos because we’re trying to play this show and they wanted to hear something – we had nothing like recorded.” At their favourite spot under the stairs, using a handy laptop and a RockBand mic, they jammed and recorded the music.

Sater talks about his passion for the music. “We’re all in school right now but the music is like the thing we dream about, that’s the thing I wake up thinking about every day.”

Despite having had no songs written to start, there was the hype was building and Tether became very popular amongst students. “There’s that metal band!” Parker jokes. “It’s just kinda nice, everyone knows who you are.”

Tether’s sound can be compared to A Perfect Circle, Three Days Grace, and Rise Against.

Tether consists of the following lineup: Sam Argo (Lead Vocals) – Jad Sater (Lead guitar, backing vocals) – Mike Ritchie (Rhythm guitar) – James Parker (Bass guitar) – Nick Buchny (Drums).

Tether has a few songs on their youtube channel that you can check out. Stay tuned for the debut EP, Shattered.

facebook.com/officialtether

@OfficialTether

Esmeralda Enrique: Flamenco Dancing

In 1982, the Academy of Spanish Dance was founded by Esmeralda Enrique, an established flamenco dancer who consistently delivers mind blowing performances, along with her talented musicians, singers, and dancers.

Enrique gives a brief background on flamenco dancing. “The flamenco dance is a style of dance that originates from the south of Spain. It’s unique to Spain, because that area was cullenized and conquered by many different nationalities. Many different cultures were there, so it has a very unique blend of musical structure and history. And as far as the dance goes, flamenco is not as old as one might think; it’s maybe about 300 years old.”

Students at the Academy of Spanish Dance can take the classes to pursue dancing professionally or for recreation. The students work with dedicated teachers, and learn in a positive environment.

In 1981, Enrique came to Toronto where she met her future husband. She decided to stay in Canada, and found a way to make her living. ”I began giving classes to different groups who had some training, but it was very limited. And eventually from there, in order for me to have a more complete presentation for all the gigs that I was being asked to do, I asked some of my students to become part of the small group, and that’s how it started.”

Enrique started dancing professionally when she was fourteen. Prior to that, she had taken several dancing classes. “Since I was a kid, my mom took my whole family to different dance classes. It helped us to develop physically, and release the energy that we had. I started with folk dancing, did some Hawaiian dancing, some Spanish dance which is different from flamenco, and eventually I saw a flamenco performance when I was maybe twelve or thirteen, and my mom asked the dancers if she would give me and my sisters classes, and she agreed. And in no time, we were already performing.”

Enrique’s drive and passion has won her numerous awards including the Guia Hispana’s Raices Hispanas Award in 2003; she was also named one of the 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians in 2008.

For more information, visit flamencos.net

Enrique’s creative and inspiring art of flamenco can be seen here in this video.

Marty Simsovic: The Catman

On occasion, Marty Simsovic will be walking down the street when someone says, “You’re the cat guy!”

It is a reference to Simsovic’s nickname – the catman.

“At Humber College, I got the nickname the catman, because all I did was talk about my cats,” Simsovic said.

The nickname is now part of Simsovic’s brand; his twitter username is @catmanMarty.

Simsovic has embraced the nickname. “I like it, I like being a mini celebrity even if three or four people recognize me.”

Simsovic is a comedian in Toronto, Ontario. He has performed in many places, such as Spirits, Corktown Comedy, and Yuk Yuk’s.

“I love doing public speaking, I love doing stand-up, I love comedy, it’s one of the things that is a high point in my life, it gives me great pleasure. I value myself a little more because I’m able to make people laugh, and I have a good time at it.”

Aside from the comedy and public speaking, Simsovic also likes to blog. He has been on Blogger since October 2011. “The humor blog is where I write jokes, or I write funny stories.” There is also another blog, MartySimsovic Speaks, where he writes about general topics such as: The Blue Jays, comedy shows, and Rob Ford. Other blogs he has featured are Streetsmart Lessons, and Therefore I can do this.

Simsovic has some tips and advice for aspiring comedians. “You have to work the rooms, you have to always be writing, you have to make contacts, and if you can’t get time, you have to start your own room, and write about life.”

Here is a hilarious video of the one and only catman performing at a Toastmasters area contest.

Phil Mitrovic, Zach Minawi, David Meredith: Phil’s Basement

It all started in Phil’s basement. That’s the name of a great YouTube channel that is full of shocking and mind-blowing videos.

Phil Mitrovic, Zach Minawi, and David Meredith are the masterminds behind the videos.

Meredith described the basement by saying, “That’s where all his brainstorming and inspiration comes from.”

All of Mitrovic’s ideas, and brainstorming have converted to humourous videos that have become a hit amongst viewers and subscribers.

Mitrovic spoke about the equipment he uses in the basement. “All my equipment is down there, my video equipment, my super computer. He then explained what he, and his friends do in the basement. “That’s pretty much where we kind of meet for story-boarding, when we come together to brainstorm.”

One day, Minawi found a spooky abandoned factory and decided to bring the others with him. They ended up filming an eight minute video.

Minawi spoke about his experience going to the abandoned factory for the first time.

“The first time I went there, it was actually really really scary because I went by myself.”

“It was really scary” Mitrovic quickly added.

Minawi then mentioned Meredith by saying, “All that adrenaline going through his body – he just wanted to play basketball.”

Meredith plays basketball on a daily basis; he talked briefly about his supreme basketball skills. “I’m very athletic, I can score a lot, I’m like an all around person, I can pass, and rebound.”

He then chuckled with a smile and said, “I love to dunk.”

Aside from Meredith’s skills in basketball, he can also be seen starring in a Breaking Bad themed video titled ‘Breaking Bad Remake – Box Cutter.’ In the short video, he portrays a sadistic character performing an explicit act with a knife. Of course this was all a skit, and the victim so to speak was okay.

“It felt pretty natural actually”, Meredith said in a strange monotone voice.

The reactions were well received by viewers, especially fans of Breaking Bad.

The crew also created a video called the 25 Cent Challenge. It started out as a class assignment; however, it ended up as a YouTube video.

Meredith went in to detail about how the video began. “Our teacher had a quarter in his pocket and wasn’t sure what to do with it so he threw it down, and told us to trade the quarter.”

Mitrovic said they had to keep trading the quarter and see what they could get in exchange.

Minawi added, “So basically he wanted us to go out and film and come back to the class and show it, what we have.”

A theme that inspired the video was a show titled Impractical Jokers.

In the video, they had several different people take part, and it turned out to be successful due to the great reviews.

The team of Phil Mitrovic, Zach Minawi, and David Meredith are a group of young men that stand out above the rest. It’s rare to find a YouTube channel that has a unique mix of bizarre yet extraordinary videos.

They’ve already turned a quarter in to a film, who knows what they could do with a loonie.

Jim Pagiamtzis: Networking Guru

“Empower and inspire for entrepreneurs and professionals to Get Connected 21st Century”. That is the mission for 21 Connections.

21 Connections is founded by Jim Pagiamtzis who is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur from Toronto, Ontario.

Pagiamtzis explained the quote and what it means. “When I first got started, I was blessed to find two great mentors, and since then I’ve met many more. My goal now is to take that baton and pass it forward, and how I do that is empowering, educating, and inspiring people to achieve what they want.”

Pagiamtzis is an established speaker; he speaks to students about dreaming big and staying in school. He speaks passionately to audiences about serving, contributing, and becoming a leader.

He talked about two mentors that helped him and how he uses that help to assistance others. “My mentor served in to my life, and I feel that I can serve to others and give them what they need or what they’re looking for in their journey.”

He then spoke about a second mentor. “He taught me the systems, the tools, to understanding my personality.”
Pagiamtzis told me he is now a better conversationalist and has improved in interacting with others.

Since 2011, Pagiamtzis has been interviewing people for a feature in his blog called Spotlight. He spoke about Spotlight by saying, “It’s about others, I’ve interviewed 50 people since 2011, and it has been really humbling, and exciting to read people’s answers. It started with one, and then two, and it just took off from there.”

Pagiamtzis spoke about the art of networking and how others can benefit. “Every connection you make is an important connection.” He went on to say, “It’s how you position your story, it’s about being a storyteller.”

Those two quotes are examples of how Jim Pagiamtzis has mastered the art of networking. The term networking guru – if there is one describes Pagiamtzis perfectly.

To learn more, click on the podcast below.

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/goalachievers/2012/02/27/social-capital-and-how-you-can-create-it-to-succeed#.T01nMwsqRco.blogger

Andreanna Browne: Those Gurls

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It’s often said that sitting in front of a camera and recording a video is a dying fad. It’s considered old news by today’s standard; however, it has been brought back to the spotlight with Those Gurls.

Andreanna Browne and her sister Andrenella or simply Nella, create videos and vlogs for YouTube where they talk about celebrities, Toronto events, and Toronto’s talent.

“We make our own ideas, put it on our vlog, and then we kind of just post it randomly.”

After seeing lots of girls on TV trying to imitate and look like Nicki Minaj, they decided to make a parody about it and create a spoof. Browne reflected on having a conversation with her sister about making the video.

She said to her sister, “Let’s just make a vlog or a parody of girls trying to look like Nicki Minaj.”

Browne then told me, “That’s kinda what we did, put something together.”

The video has reached over 100 views and according to Browne, the people who watched the video’s enjoyed it and thought it was funny. Browne has also considered doing parodies of Kim Kardashian and Lil’ Wayne.

Acting is a natural talent for Browne. She is comfortable with many different genres.

“I can do funny roles, and sad roles,” she said. She then talked about her love for improv acting.

“I love improv, I love improv, I don’t mind following a script, but I feel with improv, the acting is more natural, it comes more natural than trying to memorize, I prefer improv personally.”

Browne is very helpful and she is always willing to help others with their projects as she has appeared in many short films.

“I like to act, and I just kinda like being in front of a camera, I like being seen. That’s just how I am so that’s why when people ask if they need extras, I don’t mind in my free time.”

Browne described herself as a spontaneous and crazy individual. Those two incredible traits are what makes her YouTube channel unlike any other. During the summer, she and her sister plan on filming several more videos in their free time. It’s definitely worth watching and is very entertaining.

With her phenomenal voice, Browne plans on expanding her talents from TV to radio.

“I feel like I have a TV personality but I wanna try out having a radio personality, because I like to talk and try new things.”

When you’re craving laughter and entertainment, look no further than Those Gurls on YouTube. Andreanna and Nella are a pair of Gurls that are a force to be reckoned with.

Melissa Navarro: Creator of James Bond: The Last Dance

Picture in your mind a James Bond dance-off. At first, it’s an image that seems strange and out of the ordinary; however, it’s not fiction, it’s real. The mastermind behind the dance-off was Melissa Navarro.

“One of my favourite things I probably did was my James Bond Last Dance.”

James Bond: The Last Dance was a short film that was directed, produced, and edited by Navarro.

The film has received rave reviews since it has been posted, likely stemming from Navarro’s love for the James Bond series.

“I really enjoyed doing it because I love James Bond, and I was able to put my own idea in to making something that I love.”

Originally, the film was to have a serious tone to it; however, with a little bit of direction from her peers, Navarro implemented a humourus twist by adding the dance-off to the film.

“It’s funny how things can change,” Navarro said when referring to the dance-off idea.

Navarro also applies her creative talents to writing – an area that she excels in.

“I love writing, ever since I was younger I always wrote my own stories, so my creativity has always been up there.” She further explained her creativity in writing by saying, “I love using my imagination to create work and being able to express myself through words or visuals.”

When Navarro was younger, she wrote about fiction and plots that were fantasy based. Navarro described her earlier writing as “A dragon, and a prince trying to save a princess, and people turning in to animals, and stuff like that.”

With a smile and a laugh, Navarro simply summed up her writing by calling it “Very interesting stuff.”

Although she still writes fiction, Navarro recently started writing her own opinion pieces.

“I enjoy that kind of more, because I get to tell people about my thoughts on something, and hopefully that will make a change one day.”

Navarro has also created a parody which she describes as “A parody between James Bond, and Twilight.” Her friends loved it and asked her to post more; however, it was discontinued.

Navarro has completed a story which she started three years ago. The story is titled Access Denied which she describes as “A spy story about instead of a male spy, it’s a female spy.” She added “It’s not just guys that can do the work, but girls can too – very inspirational.”

With her creativity, and exceptional editing skills, Navarro recently created a video titled Walking Dead – Andrea & Governor.’ Spoiler alert: It is a video that show’s how the Governor was feeling after losing his daughter. She also added some dub-step music to create a dark tone and used a red background throughout the video.

In September of 2013, Navarro will be enrolling in the Film & Broadcasting program at Centennial College.
With enthusiasm and excitement, Navarro joyfully announced, “That is my dream school! I’m gonna go there! I’m gonna go for film and broadcasting, and I don’t care what anybody says! And now I’m there! I’m so excited and happy about it.”

The talent, creativeness, and imagination that Navarro has are second to none, only she can create a dancing James Bond.

It’s crazy to imagine the kind of gem that Melissa Navarro will create next.

Daryl Reyes: The Number One B-Boy

One night, at 9:37 PM, Daryl Reyes was riding on the RT. He decided to film a short video about the city and the experience of riding on the R.T. He thought it would be a cool idea to promote the city in a positive way.

Reyes reflected back to that night and explained the filming of the video.

“I thought it was kinda cool. What I did was I just stood at the end of the R.T, and I just stuck the camera in the window, I just stayed like that for the whole ride, my arm was like sore the whole time, keeping it still.”

With the footage Reyes captured, he added some punch to the video by putting some classical jazz in the background. “It turned out better than I had expected.”

The two minute film is now on YouTube and has reached over 100 views. This is a classic example that with a little tad of creativity, and a camera, you can put a nice clip together, even if it’s just another ride on Toronto’s R.T.

Lately, Reyes has been putting together ideas about shooting a Zombie film with a few classmates. He talked about making a film with lots of people, chaos, and mayhem.

“I want it a bit hard and fast paced; the zombies in this movie are gonna be running, they’re not gonna be walking.”

Reyes made a reference to the hit television series ‘The Walking Dead’. “It’s not gonna be a Walking Dead movie, for sure, because I don’t like The Walking Dead.” He described The Walking Dead has too dramatic, with not enough gore and horror.

Aside from the filming, and editing, Reyes also likes to dance. Especially b-boying. Around the time of high-school, Reyes approached some people who were b-boys and asked them if they could teach him; however, right after they taught Reyes, they quit dancing.

At that point, Reyes was the only b-boy in his school and he had to teach himself how to b-boy. “I had to teach everything for myself, learn from YouTube and stuff like that, and then it just grew from there.”

Eventually, Reyes found friends outside his school that were also into b-boying. He would then go to jams and practises and network with other b-boys.

Reyes then talked about why he b-boys and what it means to him. “I didn’t get in to it to make friends, I got in to it for the passion.” He went on to say, “It’s kind of like a video game, you kind of try to overthrow the king, or try to be better than the next guy.”

He then explained what he likes about b-boying. “Dancing is art, but with b-boying, there is a bit of competition and sport aspect involved to it, and I like that.” He also said that it’s a hobby for him that allows him to express himself and be number one.

Reyes has a creative way to balance all his activities. He likes to think of it as priorities, which helps him focus on what’s most important.

“I look at what’s gonna benefit me the most, I know that filming would benefit me the most. So I put that on top of my priority, the same with my girlfriend, and then b-boying.”

Although Reyes is juggling all these activities, he still does very well in school.

This summer, he plans to shoot films, take part in video competitions, and maybe get a partnership with YouTube.

It’s not every day you meet a friendly guy who dances, makes films, edits videos, does well in school, and has a girlfriend. Looks like his girlfriend hit the jackpot.